ITV announced plans for temporary spending reductions on Wednesday after reporting an 8 percent year-on-year decline in third-quarter advertising revenue. The U.K. television company, led by chief executive Carolyn McCall, said the fall left advertising revenue for the first nine months of 2026 down 1 percent.
With advertiser demand weakening, ITV expects advertising revenue to decline between 5 and 10 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the same period in 2025. Its forecast for the full year is a decrease of between 2 and 3 percent. McCall said the company had identified £30 million in additional temporary savings within its Media & Entertainment division for the final quarter, comprising £25 million from content and £5 million from discretionary spending outside content.
The division houses ITV's advertising operations, terrestrial television channels and ITVX streaming service. ITV agreed in July to sell the business to Comcast-owned Sky for $2.13 billion. McCall said the company was pursuing measures to offset subdued advertising conditions while continuing work on its strategic priorities across both Media & Entertainment and ITV Studios.
The proposed sale entered a formal regulatory review stage after Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice on November 4. Ofcom will examine the transaction's implications for the public interest, while the Competition and Markets Authority will assess competition issues. McCall described the intervention as an anticipated milestone and said the transaction remained on schedule, with completion still expected in the second half of 2027.
ITV Studios, which is set to become a standalone company following the sale, reported a 1 percent revenue decline for the first nine months of 2026. McCall said that result matched expectations because production deliveries and licensing agreements were concentrated in the fourth quarter. She added that the production business had already secured a larger share of its expected annual revenue than it had at the equivalent point last year.
Digital growth provided some support for the advertising business but did not offset falling linear television advertising. ITV reported a 7 percent increase in digital revenue and a 6 percent rise in digital advertising revenue. ITVX recorded its highest viewing during the period, helped by the final World Cup matches and programming including Trigger Point, Big Brother and Love Island.
According to ITV, eight of the 10 most-watched series across commercial broadcasters and streaming platforms so far this year were on its services. The company said its nine-month advertising performance exceeded that of its broadcast competitors, although it fell slightly short of earlier guidance because of macroeconomic uncertainty.
Across ITV as a whole, revenue declined 1 percent in the first nine months, while external revenue fell 2 percent. The planned buyer, Sky, is led by Dana Strong and operates pay-TV and streaming businesses in the U.K., Ireland and Italy, alongside expanding broadband and mobile operations.
